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MORENO VALLEY: Shelter kills 60 percent of animals

Moreno Valley Animal Control Officer Daniel Pacheco completes quarantine paperwork on a pitbull that recently bit and tore open a woman's leg. The dog will be euthanized if its owner cannot fulfill requirements to reclaim it. More than half the animals impounded at the shelter are on track to be euthanized this budget year.

Moreno Valley Animal Services remains on track this budget year to euthanize more than half of the thousands of stray and surrendered animals it will receive, statistics show.

The city-operated shelter euthanized 60 percent of the animals it received between July 1 and Sept. 26, the most recent data available.

The number of animals euthanized annually at the shelter has hovered between 55 percent and 61 percent since fiscal year 2007-08. As the economy tanked, Moreno Valley residents lost jobs and houses and city officials slashed budgets, implemented furloughs and closed offices one day a week, including animal services.

Nationally, about 60 percent of animals received at shelters are euthanized, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, also known as the ASPCA. Shelters across the country take in as many as 7 million animals annually.

The Riverside County Department of Animal Servicesâ annual impounds fluctuated between about 40,000 to 72,000 from fiscal years 2006-07 to 2010-11, statistics show. The department euthanized between 39 percent and 54 percent of animals it received during that time.

Steve Fries, manager of Moreno Valleyâs animal services division, said he wants to work with other organizations to reduce the shelterâs euthanasia rates by holding more pet adoption events such as Octoberâs Pet in the Park at Moreno Valley Community Park. Itâs also important to educate people about spay and neutering pets to control the animal population, he said.

âWe are here to help them and help the pets,â Fries said. âEuthanasia is an unfortunate reality. The staff would certainly want to adopt everything they could.â

The shelter recently held adoptable pets that had been there as long as 30 days, Fries said. Animals are assessed daily for illnesses and injuries, he said.

âWe have to determine how best to serve the entire population of the shelter,â Fries said.

The Moreno Valley City Council on Dec. 18 will hold a study session to discuss the shelterâs euthanasia rate and what can be done to reduce it. At a September City Council meeting, Michael Geller, with whom Mayor Richard Stewart shares a law office, said he suspected the shelter euthanized 80 percent of the animals housed there.

Geller also said he believed that shelter management could do more to encourage adoption, including reducing fees, applying for grants and improving business hours.

âMy goal is to get the animal shelter to be open the same days and the same hours (nearly) as Costco,â Geller said in an email after the meeting. âThey need to lower the cost of adoption dramatically and do more outreach and they can get the kill rate down dramatically.â

Fries didnât attend the meeting. He said Geller has not contacted him to discuss the matter.

âEveryone has a right to voice their criticisms and concerns,â Fries said. âThereâs always a way to improve what weâre doing.â

The 18,000 square-foot shelter, which opened in 2000, must take all stray and injured animals that its officers capture or people surrender. It has received more than 13,000 animals annually since fiscal year 2008-09, statistics show. The City of Perris contracts with the shelter and brings its animals to the Moreno Valley shelter, too.

Animal Services annual budget is about $2.2 million. It has 22 employees, more than 50 volunteers and contracts with agencies that include the Riverside County Office of Education and the Sheriffâs Department work release program, which provide help.

The shelter holds an average of 175 dogs and 60 cats a day, Fries said. It also takes other animals such as raccoons, snakes and chickens.

Animal Control Officer Daniel Pacheco recently responded to six calls involving stray or vicious dogs and picked up five in about two hours. Almost all the dogs had not been neutered.

âThe shelter gets full quick,â Pacheco said. âIt seems like four or five get adopted and 10 more come in.â

One dog, a pitbull, severely bit a woman, tearing open part of her lower leg. The dog will be euthanized if the owner canât meet the requirements, including $100,000 in liability insurance for the dog and fence and kennel improvements, to get it returned.

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